Beyond Caesar: Our Eight Favorite Sci-Fi Primates

Now that Matt Reeves’ upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has given us an ominous look into the future of Caesar and his army of apes with the film’s first trailer, we’ve got apes on the brain. But I swear we don’t have the Simian Flu! While we’ve still got some time to go before we take a trip to that planet, let’s take a vine-swing down memory lane for a visit with eight of the most memorable primates science fiction has given us. If you’ve got some other examples that we didn’t get to, they’re more than invited to swing with us. It was just starting to smell really bad is all. (And yes, we intentionally avoided all references to the Planet films.) Somebody toss out a banana, for away we go.

Tribe Leader (2001: A Space Odyssey)
It’s impossible to hear the song “Also sprach Zarathustra” without thinking of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey. And it is in turn impossible not to think of that film without remembering the epic prehistoric opening sequence that either blew your mind or made you want to blow your brains out. Say what you will, of the millions of violent acts that have been portrayed on film, few have managed to pack as much subtext and importance as those that occur once the Monolith enters the picture. And it’s when our friend seen above throws his prize bone into the air that the movie begins its trippy trek into the world of HAL and Dave. Put your dukes up for the all-out battle seen below.